Illinois
Cost to sue someone in Illinois
All-in estimate per case type — filing fees + process-server fees + attorney range. Server costs reflect Illinois's requirement that sheriff or marshal only.
| Case type | Filing fee | Server fee | Attorney | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Small claims
No lawyers in many counties
|
$108 – $108 1 counties |
$35 – $75 | N/A | $143 – $183 |
| Civil case ≤ $50,000 | $338 – $338 1 counties |
$35 – $75 | $1500 – $8000 | $1873 – $8413 |
| Civil case > $50,000 | $413 – $413 1 counties |
$35 – $75 | $10000 – $50000 | $10448 – $50488 |
| Eviction filing | $185 – $185 1 counties |
$35 – $75 | $500 – $2500 | $720 – $2760 |
| Divorce (no children) | $388 – $388 1 counties |
$35 – $75 | $1500 – $6000 | $1923 – $6463 |
| Divorce (with children) | No filing-fee data yet for this case type | — | ||
Other states
Estimates only. Actual costs vary by county, case
complexity, and attorney rates. Process-server fees are typical
ranges from public directories; attorney ranges are state bar fee
surveys. Court fees come from our editorial Filing Fee dataset —
counties without published rows are not included in the band.